Stars: Serafima Berman, Nikolai Cherkassov, Ludmila Tselikovskaya

Director: Sergei Eisenstein

Summary: The classic story of Tsar Ivan IV, Ivan the Terrible. This part begins with his being crowned Tsar of Russia, through his downfall and ends with his recall by the Russian people. Music by Sergei Prokfiev. Russian dialogue.

Originally conceived as a historical epic in three parts, Sergei Eisenstein's epic biography of Czar Ivan IV, the murderous 16th-century unifier of the Russian people, was truncated by the director's death in 1948, as he was about to begin part three. A spectacle of impressively baroque splendor, it remains one of the great anomalies of film history. Starring Nikolai Cherkassov as the eponymous ruler, the film opens with the 16-year-old's opulent coronation in 1546. He breaks with the custom of marriage to a foreign princess by marrying a Russian girl, Anastasia Romanovna (Lyudmila Tselikovskaya), thereby offending the nobility. In an effort to expand his territory eastward, he leads an army of 100,000 to seize Kazan, succeeding only after a long and bitter campaign. After contracting a seemingly fatal illness, Ivan summons the boyars, led by his aunt Euphrosinia (Serafima Birman), but they refuse his demand to swear allegiance to his one-year-old son, greatly angering the czar. When Ivan miraculously returns to health, he begins to consolidate power in opposition to the boyars. While Cherkassov gives a commanding performance, it's the film's unique visual quality, featuring spectacularly ornate set design and costumes, along with a performance style influenced by Russian classism, grand opera, and Kabuki theater, that makes it such a rewarding experience.

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Aspect Ratio:	4:3 Full Frame
Main Language:	Russian
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Interactive Menus
Subtitles:	English
Year:	1944
Release Date:	August 13, 2001
Runtime:	94 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	E K A 40014
Keywords:	Classic, Book, Subtitled, Off, General, Russian, Ivan, Terrible, Part, Drama, Historical, Based, Pt, Schedule, Groznyi
Genre:	Drama